Fuck you, I won’t tidy my bedroom

You can’t blog for a rap magazine like I do and not become obsessed with the disconnect between what people like and what the TIs would like them to like.

Case in point, the cover of the March issue of XXL the magazine, with Gucci Mane. I’m gonna tread lightly here, because I was hesitant to work this today to begin with (if only I had anything else better to do), and I’d hate for it to be all for naught. And the truth of the matter is that I could give a rat’s ass about Gucci Mane. I’m not dissing the guy’s music, because I’ve hardly heard any of the guy’s music. I’m just saying. The shit doesn’t interest me personally.

And apparently, I’m not the only one. Check the comments sections here and at any number of other blogs that slavishly post the covers of XXL and other rap magazines month after month, in a naked, pathetic bid for pageviews. They’re filled with people talking about how they can’t stand Gucci Mane, how they’re gonna skip next month’s issue, and how they’re glad they stopped buying magazines.

Granted, I’m sure the comments sections of a few blogs are hardly representative of the hip-hop community as a whole. People who read rap blogs like the Clipse (especially Combat Jack), and the Clipse were doing Wale numbers before it was all trendy. Gucci Mane’s album may have only sold 90,000 copies its first week out, but that’s still not too far off from what the new Fiddy album sold. These days, you don’t have to well to be doing better than pretty much anyone.

If Noz had a blog where he posted pictures of magazine covers without any commentary or added value otherwise (known in the white community as a Tumblr), I’m sure plenty of people would have approved. Except, you never can tell with Noz. Sometimes you think an artist would be right in his wheelhouse, but Noz can’t stand them. Like this guy Freddie Gibbs, who, according to descriptions on the Internets, is to UGK what Little Brother was to Tribe. I enjoy both Tribe and Little Brother (which seems to have gone the way of Tribe) as if they were milkshakes (nullus), but I’m judging primarily on the basis of the music. Noz’ appreciation of music is obviously a lot more complex.

It’d be interesting, if they actually told us how many copies of each issue XXL sells, the way a site like Gawker makes such a public spectacle of its pageviews. Will this next issue, with Gucci Mane, sell enough copies to warrant alienating legions of aging crybabies on the Internets? They’ve obviously got Gucci dressed up like Lil Wayne and the Birdman on the cover of that 10th anniversary issue, similar to how the most recent Jay-Z cover was an homage to a Biggie Source cover, thus suggesting that Jay-Z is now better than Biggie. (Admittedly, I’m still kinda hurt by this.)

Will this Gucci Mane cover sell as well as a Lil Wayne cover? I doubt it, though I wonder if anything on the cover would sell as well as a Lil Wayne cover. (Yes, even that picture of Shakur from the other day.) I mean, the guy must be a huge draw, if he’s on the cover seemingly every third month. They put him on the cover of their 10th anniversary issue. Didn’t they even put him on the cover of the anniversary of Biggie Smalls’ death? I seem to recall being upset by that at some point or another, but it may have just been a bad dream.

Alas, we’ll probably never know how well this Gucci Mane cover performs relative to covers with Lil Wayne and other artists. If it does do well, I suppose we’ll know when they pull the same shit a few months later. But if it does really poorly, why would they let the world know? Aside from announcing to potential advertisers that they aren’t capable of making a good decision, it would just open them up to complaints like the one I tried to make about the New York Times covering Gucci Mane as if he’s the next Lil Wayne, when it didn’t seem warranted.

If the editorial process here at XXL was more transparent, it’d be that much easier to hijack by people who know from good rap music. Like this Christmas song contest in the UK. Maybe you heard about it.

It’s a well known fact that people in foreign countries lack Americans’ taste in music (which must have something to do with our race problem). That’s why a group like Night Ranger can be so big in Japan (just like my dick), and Tina Turner could make a living in Europe after she left Ike Turner, who taught her how to put the requisite amount of stank on her vocals and even gave her his daddy’s name. Because of this, shitty pop music is especially popular in Europe. Shit like the kids who win American Idol. The show American Idol even started out in England, where it was obviously called something else. Each year, for what reason I’m not sure, there’s a contest to see who can have the number one song on Christmas. It’s usually won by one of the fruits from Simon Cowell’s stable, but this year there was a campaign on Facebook to elect “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine, and they actually won. “Killing in the Name” actually is the number one song in the UK right now.

The thing is, this wasn’t some bullshit online poll where those racist who took down SOHH could probably hack into it. People had to actually go out and cop “Killing in the Name.” From what I understand, some people may have even copped it on CD single. Where in the world they found a CD single, I’m not sure. I can’t even find the ones I own, to the point where I’m wondering if such a thing really existed. Maybe Sony had some printed up. As has been pointed out ad nauseum, both Rage and the fruit they beat record for Sony. So I’m sure the TIs could give a rat’s ass who won. Admittedly, it would have been cooler if the guys on Facebook had picked a song that’s just as gully (if there is such a song) by an artist on an independent label. I wonder if the result would have been the same, or if the TIs would have found a way to rig it in the fruit’s favor. I should note, however, that Rage plans to donate whatever proceeds they receive as a result of this contest to some commie pinko charity – hopefully an organization that buys sexual encounters for bloggers who hate the government.

A brother can dream, right?

Then there’s the fact that this stunt probably won’t have much of an effect in the grand scheme of things. It’s one thing if a buncha crazy kids go out and buy a Rage Against the Machine song to fuck with a contest, but they’re not gonna continue to pay for good music, because smart people have no (good) reason to pay for music, and if Rage played as much a role in these kids’ formative years as they did in mine, chances are they don’t have the money anyway. If you haven’t noticed, I have a certain rebellious streak that doesn’t seem to have served me well. Shitty pop groups might not be as popular as a group like Rage, but people who like shitty pop group like Rage, but people who like shitty pop groups spend more money for music. And therein lies the rub. Because whoever sells more record won’t just dominate the charts, they’ll dominate the entire promotional apparatus, including magazine covers, radio, TV and what have you. It might stand to reason that, if there’s just as many people who like good music as there are people who like Gucci Mane, it should be on magazine covers, too, since people who like good music want to read about the artists they like as well, but that’s just not how magazines work. Serving their readership is only one of their priorities, and obviously not the most important.

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BigJon

Gucci is fucking horrible – enough said

DV8

I just put this up here so everybody would see it because lets be honest nobody really wants to scroll all the way down to the bottom.

My stance on Gucci is this. He basically sucks as a rapper but manages to pull out a banger ever so often that it keeps me listening. I dont know if its actually Gucci or is it actually Zaytoven that im a fan of.

As far as him being on the next cover, Gucci has a legion on fans who I hear “reciting” his “lyrics” in grocery stores of all places. I willing to bet the cover will sell pretty decent next month especially in grocery stores.

http://Pierzy11@gmail.com Pierzy

Co/Sign. Gucci is trash through and through. Too bad this post will probably be torn down before I finish eating dinner…

Jhon da Analyst

Gucci Mane sux monkey balls from the back, OJ da Juiceman is atrocious, and what the fuck is a Wocka Flocka………..these bums make me sick.

schamsed

It is not really that big of a deal. God gave us the cure to bad rap music! The internet can solve all of our bad rap problems. You don’t have to listen to Gucci Mane because he is the only thing played on the radio. Dudes like Charles Hamilton and Lupe Fiasco can still put out good music with the internet. If you want to read about artist you like simply find a blog that writes about them. Problem solve…

http://richandfilthyuk/youtube.com rich kid ldn

I’m not a fan of all of guccis music but he has had a few hot tracks please everyone stop pretending that he’s the worst mc in the world,because you don’t seem to support the artists you pretend to love so much!last I seen charles hamilton got punched by a girl,don’t no one remember the video of gucci slapping that girl that was on stage acting wild.gucci is actually a bit realer than most of these fake assed rappers!

jon kane

fucking aye. gucci licks bag. rage fucking rocks!

Tha Real Coreaga

You been drinking Byron? Either that or them extra holiday hours @ Walmart gave somebody a bit of a financial cushion.
Go out guns a blazin’ son!!!

http://www.jamal7mile.blogspot.com Jamal7Mile

Hahahahaa!! FTW!

General

Good post Bol…

Too many people get sucked into the garbage claimin its real street music, gtfoh…

All I here is how Gucci is runnin shit, but he still ain’t pushed many units and Syk pointed out in his comments on another post, Gucci is stuck in a 360 slave deal, so he ain’t bringin in much bread off the shows either…

DoubleO

What i can’t seem to understand is this – i think after that random LOL smiley face track he did with Soulja Bitch came out, there was a sudden explosion of praise and predictions of Gucci as “THE NEXT BIG THING SINCE LIL WAYNE”, but thing is, before that smiley face bullshit, i ain’t never heard of him, so why he gettin more props than Eminem, who has been murdering both commercially AND critically this year?

http://Pierzy11@gmail.com Pierzy

The execs at XXL (particularly the EIC) are huge fans of Gucci.

fastflipper

i dint took my xxl membership for this year

its always the same artists on the covers

lil wayne jayz or 50 cent

and they almost double up the prices for 9 issues instead of 12

when i will see a slaughter house or a joe budden cover

maybe i will take it again !

and good post BOL like every time !

$ykotic/Don McCaine

“if ya was gunna get on here and talk shit then y comment at all if this shit aint of importance to u get yahs lame ass offa here”

“stop hating go listen to rock if its the end of hip hop im so fuckin annoyed of whinning wutang dick riders, you call er rapper wack and u pushin 40″

“why all yall hatin on gucci ? yall must be jealous … or aint got a life . point blank .”

“SAY WAT U WANT BUT GUCCI WILL BE RICH REGARDLESS AND U WILL STILL BE BROKE AND A FUCKIN HATER”

^^^ This. Is the reason why the rap game is falling off.

Cats are SOOOOO into the image of Gucci, BUT NONE OF HIS FANS CAN PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF 5-10 CLASSIC SONGS THAT MAN HAS PUT OUT THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER IN 5 YEARS.

I can name ONE song: “Freaky Girl”. And LUDA ate that song.

If men hate so much on Gucci, BRING FACTS to the debate of Gucci’s rap glory.

DetroitDraper

Hey wait a min(In a John Wayne style voice)He may not be your style but I swear to Winter Solstice Gucci has some classics under his belt. Me myself I prefer the underground Gucci to this new more pop version. Kinda how Three Six got so horrible progressively over the years. If you have’nt chech out his Bird Flu or his Chicken Talk mixtape…they were pretty good. His best and most underrated album was Hard To Kill.

Four bars of cliches, ending in an uncreative line about a grizzly bear that I’ve heard numerous times already. Please tell me this isn’t one of the “classics” he has under his belt.

Deadly MIME

Goin to Sykotic/Don McCaine

Yo you talkin to a Wu-Tang Fan not a dick rider cause if thats the case then i would think that you riding Gucci Mane like hes the shit. Its not about how much money he makes, its not about the fact that im jealous, its not about these things. the fact is gucci mane is wack and is talkin the same shit every other rapper been sayin for the past 4 years. hes not contributing to the artform or anything. hit me up at myspace.com/deadlymimemusic sinceyou want to debate this shit

$ykotic/Don McCaine

We’re on the same team fam.

I’m asking the stans to show and prove through the music why they like this dude, and after 4 plus days of this posting and my comment only one dude has dropped a lyric.

My experiment worked.

Mario

Gucci Mane Sucks period I Wish i could skip this issue but i have a subscription and about lil wayne covers i hate that faggot.

WestPhillyPolo

To each his own. Some people like Gucci and others don’t. I fucks with Gucci and his new album. I came up in the nineties, so I’m a die hard east coast rap guy.(from Philly) At the same time, I can appreciate Gucci’s music. I just have a wide taste in hip hop. I came up off of Nas, Jay, Bootcamp, Big and all the other legends, but I still like Gucci. I don’t like to limit myself. I just love hip hop. I can listen to Mobb Deep, Cam, Redman, Lupe, UGK, Wiz Khalifah, 50, Jeezy, Game, Tip(yall get the point) I wasn’t a big fan of dude but I gave him a chance and I dug.

I live in the south and am a big little brother and clipse fan, but I’m the only one!!!!!! Nggz, and espesially bitches, LUV gucci down here. They quote this ngga like he speaks in red( jesus king james version) I manage a call room and all the (black) chicks luv gicci. I was just in new york and ain’t here that ngga nowhere, but down here, if it ain’t wayne, jeezy, or t.I, its gucci. The same croud that was into vno limit and three six and lil john r now into gucci. Ignorance begats ignorance I guess

Schooly Decep

Gucci ain’t my bag but he’s good at his thing and what’s the alternative? Fucking garbage like–

* Rakim– who sounds like he’s brain damaged now, which would at least be an interesting story

* Joell Ortiz– once promising, now fat emo never was.

* Saigon– who? That’s what his kid says too, btw.

Etc ad nauseum.

The biggest problem with Gucci is it shows the limits of these mixtape retards: it’s a viable publicity move but who among them has EVER had songs? Maybe Wayne, for his style.

Now I would love to see a Sean Price cover but I don’t live in the alternate universe where that’s going to happen, alas.

jeremy

this blogger doesnt know any gucci mane music. how are you going to write about him daily and u never even heard him. no wonder xxl doesnt pay u guys shit. maybe if u did research people might care about u. fag.

http://tonygrands.blogspot.com Tony Grands

I can’t hate a person I never met, but I can sure as shit stay away from their music. It’s the same ethos applied to 70% of rap music released.

Trash goes in the garbage for someone else to pick up.

rich kid ldn

Tony,your spot on!!hate to see how much grown adults can hate so much,I got gucci mane and juice man come up dvd and couldn’t watch it for too long but I just passed it to my friend who loves that shit,each to their own!!

Gift

U know wutz sad, is that gucci will still continue to grow, especially since he’ll be getting out of jail again, and release shit loads of horrible rap over killer beats( he fuck wit dem good producers). All we can do is not buy the shit if we don’t like. Comments will only give a nigga a reason to say that he gettin hated on. this is the platform for opinions to be expressed, but in the same token, xxl is gonna keep suckin the same artist’s dick, and ultimately, if u don’t like it, then don’t buy that shit. I don’t, and I’m chillin like a motherfucka. REAL TALK.

P.S.
CAN XXL STOP SHEDDIN LIGHT ON COON ASS NIGGAS?

http://www.bboycult.com www.bboycult.com

hear! hear!

great drop! not the typical Bol-shit.

http://www.plasticsquirtguns.blogspot.com thoreauly77

*stands up and applauds whilst in living room*

FUCK YEAH BOL.

http://www.jamal7mile.blogspot.com Jamal7Mile

Dope drop, Bol. I’m amazed that it wasn’t pulled. Those other phantom posts must’ve been REALLY good. I’m hating that I missed them.

Byron, why not put all of your pulled posts on your own ByronCrawford.com site? Or create a new site devoted to those particular posts that make the TIs cringe? You could call it “Bol Give a Rat’s Ass!” and continue to drop that heat.

I gotta wonder if XXL allows a post they know they’ll pull 20 seconds later to be published, just so that they can claim publishing/ownership and prevent you from reposting it somewhere. Is that why you won’t repost?

Don’t let these potent joints go to waste!

$ykotic/Don McCaine

Word is bond I was thinking the same thing.

Except I would call it “Bol’s RoffleBerger”

Mr Crawford you owe me a bottle of Sterling for the name…

BIGNAT

good shit bol how many of your post have they pulled this year?

Chilly Willy

You fuckin right, Bol.

I remember that Wayne cover for Biggie’s death anniversary. YN said some shit along the lines of Things Done Changed bullshit.

I’ve always been vocal about this icy bullshit. As a fan, I feel left out by one of the last printed outlets of the culture I love. But hey, on the flipside, you can’t be mad at a company that got his priorities in order. The only reason I eff with the X-spot is the thoughtful drops (nullus?) from the likes of yourself, the knowledge I share with my brethren, and sometimes the gems in the bangers (get ‘em Tiger ! get ‘em Tiger).

If Vibe could come back, get back on yo bullshit, XXL, it’s all good. You do you, but at the very least, bring Scratch back.

‘Nessa Clause, that is my only Christmas wish. I’ve been a nice boy and I’ve alw- aawwwww shit! Fuck that ! Bring back Scratch! That’s it !

sealsaa

Heh, I said as soon as that last post got pulled: Gucci must be on next month’s cover. Karnac the fucking magnificent I am. I’ll be here all week…

XXL hasn’t listened to it’s readership in quite some time. The heavy “hiphop soul” *makes jerking-off motion* elements are a clear indication of that. Now they’re trying to force shitty rap music on people. If I wanted a mag and it’s staff to shove their opinions down my throat, i’d read some Dave Mays/Benzino-era issues of The Sauce.

If Gibbs is going to transcend blogger-favorite status he needs to pander to the under-13 crowd.

yoprince

lmao

yea if gibbs could learn to incorporate more of a nursery rhyme structure style and maybe identify a favorite color. i would suggest orange, b/c then he could make a song where he told us all of his favorite material possessions were like orange juice. the kids would love it, and so would XXL.

nicholasdelorejo

Bol you touched on a good point about the confused priorities that rap mags have on selecting rap artists to be placed on the covers. Gucci sold about 90K which is actually good in today’s market. But didn’t Cudi sell slightly more than that. Hell didn’t Drake sell more off an EP that was on the net for months. My point is that those were two artists have been far more successful than Gucci in terms of charts and album sales yet XXL out of the blue brings in the retard clone of Jeezy. But that’s the case when you have an genre where the Gucci stans and the like appreciate gimmicks over the artist’s substance. XXL purposely place shitty or gimmicky artists on covers in order to spark some interest for many of us who are disatisfied with this choice to buy the issue. The other day I picked up a copy of the resurfaced Vibe issue and the store clerk told me that that issue was very popular. This was probably due to the cover having Chris Brown on it and not just Drake.

The heads at XXL are never surprised at the criticism they recieve when they place put out a Gucci or Soulja boy cover. They know that just confirms their hope of having more attention towards them from the consumers than they’ll get from catering to the wishes of people that like good music. Unlease your Lady Gaga who can sing and make you go WTF, good lyricists are not in the interest of media outlets. Cartoonish whack rappers however are beneficial.

jjjjjj jjjjj

cosign

Caino

Us kats in the UK put Rage at number 1 cos we are sick and tired of Simon COwell trying to force feed and dictate what music we should be listening to!! l mean the guy that won X Factor released a Hannah Montanna song that was already released in June !! l meanfuck ouuta here!!

in the words of Rage ‘ fuck you, l wont do what you tell me!!’

El Tico Loco

Gucci Mane does his thing and makes his money no doubt, in fact I ain’t mad at dude. But the hype about him is beyond me is like having someone win the X games and get mad sponsors because his skateboard is pretty and he can do a 4 second wheelie on it while the cats doin 900′s off halfpipes go overlooked.

WestPhillyPolo

For all those that say they’ve never heard of Gucci untill recently, maybe it’s a regional thing. Gucci has been heavy down south for the last few years. I didn’t use to fuck with Gucci, but on some real shit, he’s improved vastly and simply makes good songs. It’s that trap shit and that shit knocks. In Philly, I even hear niggas knocking that shit. It dumps hard. To each his own though. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. I myself like a little variety in hip hop. I can listen to Gucci Mane and then turn around and put in some Hell Razah and Shabazz The Disciple.

tstiffy

I honestly don’t understand the hate about Gucci.

When I first heard him a few years back, he reminded me of one of them slow kids that would always try to jump in the cypher. He could have thrown a Bart Simpson chain on Eli Porter and had him out doing shows like Doom does. He actually may want to still consider that considering his track record for making shows.

Regardless, his songs are not lyrical masterpieces, but still most of them bang. I also think it’s funny how he keep Joo-man around to make him look better, like a mediocre girl that chills with ugly broads to help her self esteem.

Bol = 317 lbs of truffle-shuffle

Bol, will you please buy yourself a prostitute before New Years? This way you can come back and not be so girly/PMS’ing about everything, you Monique looking fool-wit-it. If Monique had a twin it would be you, but that is just being cruel to Monique.
Those who think that Gucci only gets ghetto play is just brilliant. Ghetto folk can’t buy shit and definately don’t have computers to express anything. I would say they make up about 5% of his sales.
He might not of done huge #’s but he still doubled his fan base this go around.
You NY’ers need to chill a little and not take rap or anything to damn serious, enjoy yourselves a just a little bit.

Brooklyn

damn, this post is still here? the way this site gets down, i’d have expected this shit to disappear within a matter of minutes. i don’t hate gucci mane, i hate his music. i can objectively say that the beats are good, but what the fuck is a good beat if i have to listen to bullshit lyrics? niggas said he improved, my question is, he was worse than this?

WestPhillyPolo

Lol Yes I think he was way worse. He can be very simple at times, but also he can be clever and witty. I think what gets people most is the accent. Hid drawl is so thick that people choose not to listen to what he’s saying. It’s all opinion though. It’s for some and others just won’t like it. But dude has a huge fanbase. Go down south, shit come to Philly, go to Detroit. Niggas fuck with Gucci

bk

It’s funny that the assumption is that it is New Yorkers hating. It doesn’t have to do with NY or even with hate.

I think Gucci is fun but it’s more a novelty to me. And I’m not into novelty rap singles all over the place. Like some stale candy, too much of this stuff (like in the present) leaves one with a stomach ache. Pass the Pepto.

DazzOne

/\ /\ /\

LMAO!!!!

Yeah, but understand, the more energy you devote to something don’t like, the more that thing succeeds. I’m mean, look at Bush (TWO TERMS!?!?!? HOW!?!?)

nicholasdelorejo

I gotta disagree. it’s one thing if Gucci rose to popularity with the fans gradually appreciating his work. But honestly I don’t know how in the hell Gucci got this popular without a hit record, a top selling album, or anything to differentiate himself from the pack of dope boy rappers. So the hate is justifiable because it just seems like the folks in XXL mag either must hate good rap music itself or are being paid by the labels to promote hip hops next simpleton superstar.

Seriously in terms of success what has Gucci done that newcomers like Asher Rothe, Ace Hood, Kid Cudi, and even Wale haven’t done themselves if not better? Not saying they deserve a cover shot, but its not like Gucci is any better.

Wallman

sorry about this but.. What/who does the “TIs” stand for lol? can’t figure it out.

http://www.jamal7mile.blogspot.com Jamal7Mile

TI = Tall Israelite.

AKA the white businessmen who own all aspects of Hip-Hop but aren’t really part of the culture (Jerry Heller, Iovine, etc.)

HipHpFive15

Yea Gucci Mane is for sure one of the worst rappers in history next to birdman. but i gotta question, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENDED TO CRIME MOB?! them muthafuckas havent dropped for fucking ever

From what I can gather, Gucci Mane is extremely popular cause he bodied some dude tryin to rob him or something. For ignorant ghetto niggas, this guy is like the second comin of Tupac. Since he killed someone, everything he says must be law. Fuckin retards!

that nigga

Bol will be fired soon and this will be taken down. Wonder how its still up, tho. Higher ups must be on vaca?

http://tonygrands.blogspot.com Tony Grands

I believe, in order to be a pop icon, there has to be an unlimited amount of ignorance within ink-covered arms distance. Remember how there was that one retarded kid at your school who EVERYBODY knew? Even the bullies, barely above him academically, had mad love for that critter. It’s that same neanderthal appeal that draws massive amounts of clearly sane people into these pop culture phenomenons, subsequently lowering their standards & expectations to become part of the movement. Gucci Mane is as clearly a celebrity as he is a fool, so why would his celebration be any different? Answer: it’s not.

.Nowadays, all the things that made a rapper an “MC” have been forsaken, lost, forgotten & replaced by the cloak of douchbaggery. Skills have taken a back seat to finance. When the argument is made that Gucci obviously lacks said skill set, the response in most cases is a warm-hearted, “Stop hatin’, bitch! Gucci gettin’ all dat paypah, fuck boy!”. Or something to that effect. Talent is now overshadowed by appearance, behavior, & smug pretension, every if it’s covered in gut blunts & bbq sauce. Kinda like a preacher; never mind how sincere his message may, or may not be, what truly matters how nice his suit & watch are, or in some cases, how fancy his robe is. Gucci is so high up on the “look at me” ladder that he doesn’t even need to wear shirts anymore. No clothing manufacturer’s wares/wears can exemplify, or contain, such a tremendous amount of nigganometry. Seriously, Gucci is so hood that his magical tattoos probably incinerate shirts as soon as they touch his canvas-y flesh. Or maybe I’m over thinking it, & to him, it’s not worth the hassle of pulling a $500 scmedium tee over your arms when they’re covered with Wonder Woman bracelets & 2-3 divers watches.

Either way, dude’s some type of anti-intellectual rapster warlock, & if you’re not careful, you’ll get baptized in the funk…

nicholasdelorejo

You got a point there Tony. I think it comes from the commmon view folks have that rappers came from their crinminal pasts because it was their only option at the time. It’s because of this that folks would support a whack artist because they would rather see dude get a better life away from their former drug/criminal lifestyle. Regardless to the content of their material because they’ll at least feel like their helping a dude out. That’s what really irks me about the stans of Gucci and the like. They have this hip hop charity mentality where they’ll gleefully respect and support a shit-bag rapper with a corrupted past but bring in a rapper with some lyrical talent and creativity (Lupe, Wale, ect) and they’ll find some way to shit on him.

It’s because of the way people treat hip-hop as the National Association of the Advancement of Dumb Negroes that many black people are opting to listen to “white” music rather than rap. And I don’t blame them. CDs aren’t getting any cheaper and I don’t feel like spending $12-$16 on a dumb muthafucka rapping about the same shit I can find on Thug Motivation 101. My advice to anyone who listens to rap to begin finding another genre to listen to because I have a feeling that this shit is going to die in a few years. And the sad thing is part of me wants it to.

$ykotic/Don McCaine

“My advice to anyone who listens to rap to begin finding another genre to listen to because I have a feeling that this shit is going to die in a few years. And the sad thing is part of me wants it to.”

^^^ *pointing fingers @*

Kermitt387

Gucci okay when you just trying to listen to sum B.S. i’m actually cool with his new shxt beats are banging its something to blaze to…thats whats up

CLARK

Why would you be “trying to listen to sum B.S.” ?

I suppose feces would be okay when “you just trying to eat sum bull shit…”

sealsaa

“For ignorant ghetto niggas, this guy is like the second comin of Tupac.”

As if the fanbases aren’t one and the same.

alderman j

You clowns hate because you cant relate to this man, When ODB was all incoherent and talking neighborhood slang nobody knocked him for that, we took the time to listen figure it out, ODB was dope!! Give GUCCI the same. If you dont like it, get your CD game up get you a nice system in your car, and one at home and dont listen to the radio, I DONT!!! I only listen to what i want to because i have the money to go buy it and i have a computer and access to http://www.datpiff.com i download all the mixtapes buy all the new shit, stop letting radio and mtv dictate what you drones listen to. Thats why yall like EMINEM the radio controls you clowms!!

nicholasdelorejo

I don’t think anyone truely hates Gucci as an individual or what he creates. What others and myself hate is the fact that we have a hip hop publication that is supposed to be dedicated to covering and promoting all aspects of rap and IT IS THE ONE THAT IS BEING CONTROLED BY RADIO, NOT US!!! Its this bias on allowing the type of music Gucci makes to be played and refusing to play conscious or anthing besides the typical dope boy music that irritates many of us.

You bring up ODB but you forget that when he was alive all forms of rap were appreciated from the fans, mags and the radio. So we could appreciate an incoherent rapper like ODB. Gucci however is one of the many slum of trapper rappers, many of which are as incoherent as the next, that we hear blasting in the radio and seen in the pages of XXL. Why the hell should we the fans have to do the leg work of discovering the shit that is ignored in order to listen to something else? The point of Bol’s post was to illustrate how XXL is not up on its job of promoting hip hop as a whole but only promoting what is hot at the time (example covers: the rise of Florida, those Interscope/G-unit covers, ect.) I just wish people would demand the exposure of all avenues of creativity within hip hop; whether it be gangsta, trapping, conscious, pop, or whatever. I never lived the life Gucci had as a dealer. But why should I force myself to relate to the man when his fans apperently refuse to try and relate to the folks who are trying to leave the hood without doing anything negative.

DV8

Did you just compare Gucci Mane to ODB? Wow that is a mind blower. If you really listened to ODB you would know that Dirty was a lyricist too, not just a “incoherent rambler” and above all of that he was a entertainer. Gucci just says random shit that floats in his head and repeats it damn near every song.

C. Hop

the whole up in arms about rap dying because the artists you feel should get more run don’t is getting tired. The east had it’s chance to push acts like Boot Camp and Big L and chose to run with acts like Ma$e and Craig Mack. WTF were the Fu-Schnickens talking about anyway? Radio One and Clear Channel are going to push a limited number of songs cause they don’t get the profits like they used to. Wanna change things, go to best buy and speak with your wallet. I might check the radio every now and then but I get my music off the net and look for new music. I found Mac Dre a year after he passed and I’m still getting new music. And rock music and stations are no better as far as ‘white’ music goes. You’re gonna get Daughtry or 10 Nickelback sounding bands anyway. Listen to what you like and be open to whats out there. If you don’t like it, leave it for the young’ins. I agree that 80 percent of dudes getting a push now wouldn’t get a sniff of a deal in 88-98 but it’s not then, it’s now.

Brooklyn

it wasn’t that the east ran with acts like mase and craig mack (although craig mack was pretty good) it was the fact that they had more commercial appeal and puffy grinding behind the scenes that made them popular. boot camp and big l were nice as fuck, better than both mase and mack, but they didn’t make the kind of music geared towards the mainstream, their music was strictly for the hood, strictly for real hip-hop heads. it has a lot to do with promotion, and that leads to lack of support. niggas weren’t promoting big l and boot camp like they should, and as a result a lot of people had no idea who these dudes were. i only heard of big l after he died, had no idea who he was when he was alive, and i’m from ny. it boils down to, you can’t support a nigga when you don’t know who he is.

C. Hop

we have to do the leg work because of downloading. if labels aren’t making as much money, they can’t take risks breaking and discovering new talent cause the money won’t come back. so they’re stuck in a game of copy cat pushing the same mindless stuff that will fit in and almost guarantee some kind of profit. when an act makes enough of a wave indie financially, majors will take notice. if they bring the money back, then they will get a push.